Weisberg Law | Impaired Cost

Drinking and Driving will Cost you Money

Most Canadians understand the serious harm that drinking and driving has on our society. We all know the dangers associated with getting behind the wheel drunk or with too much alcohol in our system. We know it’s dangerous, not just to ourselves, but to other drivers and pedestrians.

We also know that drinking and driving is common. Almost everyone has a relative or a friend that has driven with too much alcohol in their system and been caught by the police.

Officers in recent years have not only become better at catching impaired drivers but also at securing their convictions. Our office still does an excellent job defending these charges but we must concede they have become more difficult to defend in the last five years.

This article will make it clear that you should hire a lawyer if you have been charged with impaired driving. This article might actually deter you from getting behind the wheel when you realize how expensive it is when you get charged.

The increased penalties and tough on crime rhetoric will never end drinking and driving. Someone will always have had one too many drinks to exercise good judgment. Someone will always not want to leave their new car downtown. Someone will always think they aren’t as bad as they actually are and get behind the wheel.

Next time you’ve had a couple of drinks and aren’t sure if you should risk driving, I ask you to consider the potential and inevitable costs that will occur if you are caught and convicted.

The following estimated costs make a ride in a cab seem cheap or using a service like Keys to Us inexpensive.

These costs are estimates but add them up for yourself.

Unavoidable Costs

– Hiring a Lawyer (several thousand for an experienced trial lawyer)
– Cabs ($200), public transit ($300 for three months of Metro Pass) and the patience of your friends (priceless) during the automatic 90 day suspension.
– Vehicle impoundment (approximately $400) for seven days

Potential Costs (if you are found guilty)

– Minimum fine of $1000
– Treatment program (approximately $575)
– Interlock device (approximately $1300)
– Insurance rate increase (approximately or up to $4500 per year)
– Cabs ($600), buses ($300 to $600) and friendships (priceless) for 90 days to 180 days if you enrol in the interlock program.

I’m not a mathematician but drinking and driving is not only dangerous but potentially very costly. Being found guilty of an alcohol-related driving offence will likely have a financial cost of $20,000 to $40,000 over a three or four year period (lawyer, insurance, interlock, etc.).

Buy a new car, go on a dream vacation, send your kids to private school, put a swimming pool in your backyard or drive home drunk and get caught.

If you have been charged, I recommend consulting with a lawyer to see if you can avoid some of the “Potential Costs”. Weisberg Law can be reached at 416.605.4811.